is there an electrician in the house?

[joneschick]

we have sorta lost some power.....totally lost but now we have regular power in some rooms and trickle in some rooms. We have re-set all cirucuits including the master. Mr joneschick has a server running in the basement, our refrigerator is on a heavy duty power cord to another circuit........house built in 1929
the trickle in the bathroom won't run a hair dryer in the morning. sigh

[two gun sid]

1. Do you have an overhead service?

[joneschick]

2. *feeling really uninformed* a wha?????

[two gun sid]

3. Do your service wires come from overhead or underground?

[joneschick]

4. overhead. and it's just us. Urban location so it's easy to see

the neighborhood appears to be lit as usual. Our problems began 7-8 hours ago.

[two gun sid]

5. Have you had any high winds recently? ...

Doesn't have to be anything major, just enough to cause your service wires to swing.

[joneschick]

6. nothing at all. I'm afraid it's the death knell of some wiring.

it's come and gone all day. In some rooms it's as though the dimmer switch (that we don't have)is on very low. I'm not finding it romantic however.

[two gun sid]

8. My first guess would be that you have a loose lug on the main...

it is hot all the time so don't try tightening it. Possibly the connector at the point of service has pulled loose and that would be the power companies problem to fix. Sorry I can't narrow it down any closer.

You should call an electrical contractor and have him/her check you service panel. If it seems like half your circuits are not getting full voltage I wouldn't suspect it is in the branch circuit wiring.

Best I can do for you while I'm sitting at the computer.

[BikeWriter]

13. This sounds like a dangerous condition!

That "dimmer switch" effect means one of two things, either you have something wrong in the wiring forming a resistance, or you aren't getting the proper voltage to the house. Either of these can be a dangerous condition! Electrical resistance makes heat.
I'd check my smoke alarms, call someone in to check it, and I'd turn off the main breaker if I had to leave the house.

[johnnie]

7. Is the refrigerator running fine?

It sounds to me like it is outside the house. Can you get a voltage reading from any of the outlets?

[DancingBear]

9. Agreed - do you have (or know how to use) an ammeter/voltmeter?

I'm guessing you're not getting 100 amps (if you have a 100 amp service) in -something (somewhere) is drawing that current down.

I hate to say you should probably call the power company, but you should. It could even be a bad meter - I have seen those things draw current when they're not supposed to.

[joneschick]

12. mr joneschick tells me we do have a voltmeter

it's in a part of the basement that is getting no power....let me see if I can find a flashlight

[joneschick]

10. sorry, unequipped.

we will call in an electrician tomorrow. I just couldn't stomach paying $200 for a trip fee (of 4 blocks) and service double billed for Sunday of $150/per hour in 15 minutes increments. Is there a patron saint that I should know of?

[johnnie]

11. I would call the electric company first

It sounds like it is their equipment. At least have them check their stuff first.

[KG]

14. sounds like you've lost a leg of the three phase power from the main line

that sounds like a power company problem, you should give them a call.

[joneschick]

15. Thank you all you electrically inclined DU'ers

Since the consensus appeared to be that it was a power company problem, I called around 9:30 pm local time. I had to be fairly insistent that I wanted them to check it out and that I really didn't think it was my wiring problem. So, about 10:45 a company guy shows up (scaring the ever-loving bejeezus out of daughter #1) He checked my circuit breakers, the external power box and even went up a ladder to check where the power comes into the house. Everything is just fine. He thinks we experienced a "partial brown-out" since it was a high demand day and we're at the end of that line. He seemed to think that our neighbors probably had problems but just didn't bother calling. uh huh. Mr. Joneschick thinks he probably tightened some external connections. Whatever, we're running fine today. Thank you so much for your thoughtful opinions and ever so useful advice! As always, DU rocks.

[BikeWriter]

16. Your safety is the most important thing!

Very glad it checked out okay.